Cambyses II

Cambyses II, (flourished 6th century bce), Achaemenid king of Persia (reigned 529–522 bce), who conquered Egypt in 525; he was the eldest son of King Cyrus II the Great by Cassandane, daughter of a fellow Achaemenid. During his father’s lifetime Cambyses was in charge of Babylonian affairs. In 538 he performed the ritual duties of a Babylonian king at the important New Year festival, and in 530, before Cyrus set out on his last campaign, he was appointed regent in Babylon.

The conquest of Egypt, planned by Cyrus, was the major achievement of Cambyses’ reign. The invasion took place during the reign of Psamtik III. Cambyses received assistance from Polycrates of Samos; from Phanes, a Greek general in the Egyptian army who gave him valuable military information; and from the Arabs, who provided water for the crossing of the Sinai Desert. After Cambyses had won the Battle of Pelusium (525) in the Nile Delta and had captured Heliopolis and Memphis, Egyptian resistance collapsed.

While in Egypt, Cambyses planned expeditions against Ethiopia, the Oasis of Amon (modern Wāḥat Sīwah), and Carthage. He himself set out against Ethiopia, but, after annexing the northern part of the country, he ran short of supplies and had to return. A detachment sent out from Thebes captured al-Kharijah (Kharga) Oasis but perished in a sandstorm before reaching the Oasis of Amon. The attack on Carthage was never attempted.

The 5th-century-bce Greek historian Herodotus accused Cambyses of many atrocities in Egypt, attributing them to madness, but contemporary Egyptian sources suggest that his accusations must largely be discounted. At least at the beginning of his rule, Cambyses pursued a conciliatory policy.

According to a later Achaemenid king, Darius I the Great, Cambyses, before going to Egypt, had secretly killed his brother, Bardiya, whom Herodotus called Smerdis. The murdered prince was, however, impersonated by Gaumata the Magian, who in March 522 seized the Achaemenid throne. Cambyses was traveling through Syria on his way back to Persia when he first heard reports of the revolt there; he died mysteriously in Syria in the summer of 522, either by his own hand or as the result of an accident.